My wife is used to domestic US carriers-- where she typically takes her regulation-sized spinner and a small backpack as a "personal item." We're about to fly to LHR on VA, and she's worried that they'll force her to gate check either piece because their stated policy is (emphasis mine):
Your handbag, small backpack/rucksack, pocketbook or purse, as you would normally use it (in other words, not just being used to contain items that would otherwise be regarded as baggage)
What an ambiguous standard! It suggests that a gate agent will dig through the piece and search for any item that you wouldn't "normally use!" Of course I don't mean that literally. But Mrs. Alohashirt is very distraught. She's wondering what personal item she can take that she can be sure won't be sent to gate-check purgatory. Is there such a thing as a purse that can convert to a backpack, but still looks like a purse? Any other suggestions? I'd love to hear from people who fly Virgin Atlantic often enough to know what works.
We can always check a bag. But we really would rather not.